Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
by Moss-Agate
Summary: “I don’t know Jude; I mean you’re the artist. Who knows what you were trying to get across. You could, you know explain all this to me…” Lucy slipped the drawing back into its package and laid it gingerly in the area it was found...


**This took forever to write, partially due to my endless pit of homework. Though I'm pleased with the outcome. **

**To anyone who has or had the privilege of watching Across the Universe in surround sound, consider yourself blessed. It's amazing. Good Lord, it's AMAZING! My door was shaking during the Hey Jude scene! **

**Anyway, you know the drill; I don't own anything except my imagination. **

LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS

_**For all the boring nights at home…**_

…_**without them I would go insane...**_

_Love you ev'ry day girl, always on my mind,  
One thing I can say girl, love you all the time,  
Hold me, love me,  
Hold me, love me,  
Ain't got nothin' but love babe,  
Eight days a week_.

Jude softly crooned as he sat indolently against the window ledge. He was fast at work with his sketch pad resting against his curled up legs. The day had broken into a breezy summer night and the stars were particularly bright that evening. Jude stopped to gaze out the window and admire the picturesque scene, complete with a luminous full moon.

_Mr. Moonlight  
You came to me  
one summer night  
And from your beam you made my dream  
And from the world you sent my girl  
And from above you sent us love  
And now she is mine  
I think you're fine  
because we love you  
Mr. Moonlight_

"Well you sure are in a lovey-dovey mood this evening. What's up?" Sadie asked from the doorway, fastening a groovy pair of earrings to her ears. It was Friday and of course she was getting all gussied up for another gig with Jo-Jo at the club.

Jude leaned against the glass, cooling the side of his warm head. He sighed and smiled up at Sadie.

"I don't know. I'm just in love is all," he declared in a rather jaded tone. Sadie chuckled while securing a belt to her bell bottoms.

"You say that like it's nothing Jude," she acknowledged, walking back into her room.

Jude exhaled deeply and brought a hand to the glass. He thought about Lucy and how she loved to sit at the window when it rained or snowed and how her eyes lit up as it poured out from the sky. She adored seasonal changes and the different weather it brought.

"She belongs in the sky…" he murmured to himself.

"Jude? Who belongs in the sky? Are you feeling ok?" Sadie asked from the threshold again, a worried look on her face. Jude cursed himself for thinking out loud.

Blushing, he gave an explanation to Sadie's inquiry. "It's Lucy, she belongs in the sky because she loves the weather. If she lived in the sky she could control it, make it sunny or raining…whatever her heart desires." Sadie smiled and realized how much of an idealist Jude was, especially when it came to a certain girl with azure eyes and a complexion of gold.

"You're sick with love Jude…Listen are you coming by the club later? Or is Max on his own tonight?" Jude tore his gaze away from the window and stared at the singer, surveying her brown tresses. They appeared with more vehemence than he last noticed; Sadie's hair was art in its own right, a zealous mass of corkscrews driven with momentum.

"You're hair looks different today, it looks nice," he mused, finding a complement to boost her spirits for the show. Sadie crossed her arms and glowered.

"My hair does not look _nice_ Jude." She tapped her foot on the floor.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I mean, it looks… bitchin'" Sadie grinned.

"Nice use of slang…but anyway, stop beating around the bush. Are you coming or not?"

"Oh…well Lucy doesn't get off of work till late…and I was thinking I could just stay with her here. She'll probably be too tired-" Sadie cut him off, holding her hand out to silence him.

"Yeah, she needs some time to relax. In fact I haven't seen you two get all cozy in weeks. But she's still off, working like a maniac, protecting the peace, and now the environment? God knows what's next." She kept her smile.

Jude, continuing his sketch, and still caught on the prospect of Lucy, didn't bother to say goodbye or good luck when Sadie and Jo-Jo left the apartment. It was just him now; Max would already be down at the club. He turned and peered up at the sky again, a sheet of deep cobalt, and pictured Lucy soaring through it. Her long blonde tresses and porcelain skin an alluring contrast.

His imagination soared as Lucy flew higher and higher, admiring the stars as she passed. Magically they transformed into rings, centered with lustrous diamonds that held a hypnotic glow. She was laughing and her fingers stretched towards them. She gripped at the bands, and her body twirled in perfect flips. And then Jude saw it, another ring, present on her left hand. If was different from the rest, a bit dated, but possessing more intensity and meaning than any other.

_Yes, it's real love, it's real_

_It's real love, it's real_

Jude sang loudly for no one but himself to hear, a grin spreading wide across his face. He tore off his current sketch and threw it to the floor and fast at work again. His ideas were rapidly channeled to paper, and coming to life right before his eyes. It was an ideal way to entice Lucy on a very important matter, and the timing, he thought, was perfect.

"There's just too many stairs," Lucy grumbled on her way in the door. Jude, still at his post by the window, snapped his sketch book shut upon her entrance and stood to greet her. She seemed heavily exhausted and uncomfortable with a drained, pale face and shadows under her eyes. Her hair was done up in a tight bun for a professional look and her work clothes seemed starched and itchy.

Jude wiped the charcoal from his hands and walked over to her as she hung her coat on the rack. He wove his hands around her waist from behind and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. He planted soft kisses across her bare neck in a tiny trail and her arms immediately lost their tense posture.

"Mmm…" she sighed. He stopped and quickly undid the bun in her hair and watched simply astounded as it cascaded down in one golden wave. She turned around in his arms and leaned her head against his chest, singing softly.

_It's been a hard day's night and I've been working like a dog_

_It's been a hard day's night I should be sleeping like a log_

_But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do_

_Will make me feel alright_

Jude guided Lucy in his arms, casually over to the couch and together they collapsed on it. She draped herself over Jude as he pulled her closer to him, slowly rubbing his hands up and down her back. She kissed him slowly and continued her melody against his ear.

_You know I work all day,  
To get you money to buy you things,  
And it's worth it just to hear you say,  
You're gonna give me ev'rything,  
So why on earth should I moan,  
'Cos when I get you alone,  
You know I feel okay._

_When I'm home ev'rything seems to be right_

_When I'm home feeling you holding me tight all through the night_

Jude smiled and ran his hands through Lucy's long, silky hair, savoring the feeling. "That was beautiful Luce," he whispered before fusing his lips to hers. Their kiss was long and unhurried, filled with a languid desire.

"Well thank you, but it's only just the truth." They were quiet for a moment. Lucy let her hands play with the ends of Jude's shaggy brown hair, a deliciously rich chocolate that she was always getting her hands into. He kissed the top of her head which lay planted to his chest and she became entranced by the steady rise and fall of his breath.

Lucy noticed his sketch book lying on the coffee table with the charcoal and stained rag off to the side.

"What have you been drawing today?" She reached a hand out to pick up the book and Jude quickly snatched it away from her. Lucy eyed him, quite perplexed.

"Why can't I see?" Jude bit at his tongue.

"It's a surprise, it's not finished yet." Lucy pouted her lips and Jude had to look away. He could never resist that face, but he knew it would ruin everything. This was not the time to break down; he had to be strong and persistent to show Lucy that the message implied through the drawing came wholly from his heart.

"You'll see it soon love," he assured her.

"How soon is soon?" she added with a grin. He smiled back at her and went in for a quick kiss.

"When it's ready…when the time is right…" Lucy became curious again, yet she decided to press it no further. Whatever Jude was hiding, it was bound to be brilliant.

* * *

Jude woke early to expand on his drawing. Deciding it should be larger, he got to work on a big canvas, dropping the charcoal to try out colored pencils. Color was the key in this piece. Lucy was still asleep, but she would be waking up shortly for work, though it was Saturday. Jude simply loathed the fact that she worked so hard, wearing out her delicate body. He studied her appearance and watched as she slept deeply, wrapped up in warm blankets. The sun's gentle morning rays snuck through the cracks in the curtains and danced across her features, making her hair and skin glow golden in the light. Jude grinned at the girl in front of him and his heart fluttered with the knowledge that she belonged to him. 

_Once there was a way to get back homeward.  
Once there was a way to get back home.  
_

_Sleep pretty darling do not cry,  
And I will sing a lullaby.  
Golden Slumbers fill your eyes,  
Smiles awake you when you rise.  
Sleep pretty darling do not cry,  
And I will sing a lullaby._

"That's a nice sound to wake up to," Lucy declared contentedly upon hearing Jude's smooth accent that drizzled over plain words like honey. She flashed her straight teeth at him and he returned her gesture, simultaneously covering his art. He walked over to Lucy and sat down next to her on the bed.

"I mean it when I say you have perfect teeth," he mumbled before swooping down to kiss her.

"Well good thing you got yourself an American," she laughed, between kisses, remembering that Thanksgiving night that seemed so long ago.

"So what have you been doing up so early?" Lucy asked mischievously.

"Eh, just working on stuff, nothing spectacular." Jude hoped his reply would leave Lucy satisfied, but of course she wanted to know what he was acting so strangely about.

"Oh really?" She asked stealthily getting out of bed. She began walking to the door, but changed directions once safely away from Jude.

"Well if it's not a big deal, I'll just have a quick peak," she scurried over to his canvas, covered by a thick sheet. Jude, who was too quick for her, caught her around the middle, tickling and distracting her.

"Jude!" she yelped as he pinned her to the ground. Her laughing became loud and untamed, her face a bright pinkish red. "Ok, ok I won't look! I promise! I do!" Jude stopped after a lingering moment, giving her a chance to catch her breath.

"You look like a strawberry," he stated with a chortle. She punched his arm playfully and crossed her arms.

"Oh shut up…limey," she grumbled. He brought his forehead to hers and grinned.

"But I'm _your_ limey," he muttered.

"Can't argue with that," she whispered. Jude brought his lips to hers and she wove her hands into his hair.

"COMING IN!" Max screeched from the doorway. He walked in and hastily shielded his eyes upon seeing what was on the floor, a few feet away.

"Can't I ever come in here without seeing you on top of each other?" Lucy laughed from her position underneath Jude, who was still straddling her. Max continued," I mean is this some sort of morning ritual? Lying on the floor in Jude's work area? So this is how you get the creative juices flowing, huh man?" He gestured towards Jude who slowly got off of Lucy, cursing his best friend for interrupting him in the midst of such an amorous time.

"What is it dearest Maxwell?" his sister asked with a sigh.

"Well I just wanted to inform you that you're going to be late for work…unless you can be outta here in ten." Max bit back a smile as his sister's eyes widened in alarm. She frantically ran out of the room, quickly getting ready for work.

"Wait Lucy!" Jude called out. She was in the threshold of the front entrance when he caught her by the forearm.

"Jude I really have to go, can't it wait?" she asked frantically.

"What time are you getting home?"

"I don't know, but please I have to go, I'll be late!" She broke free from his grip and darted down the stairs. He dashed forward and hastily followed suit.

"Lucy please don't stay late, try to get home early!" he yelled over the loud clanking of their feet on the steps.

"You know I don't get to choose when I come home, it depends when I'm finished, besides we really need the money." Jude glanced at Lucy's face and noticed her languid appearance still had not vanished. He couldn't take it any longer. He knew they needed the money, but he would much rather live in poverty as a vagabond if it didn't cost Lucy her health. He suddenly turned and stopped her. She spun around and glared at him.

"Lucy, darling, I know we need money, we're both working towards it, but look at yourself. You're tired and you'll get sick from all this stress. We're doing just fine, you don't need the overtime…not this week at least. Please just try to leave early. Today's important." Lucy bit her lip and sighed, realizing she was already late for work. Her conviction to beat the clock had subdued.

"Jude what I do is demanding, ok? I don't leave until I'm finished with the day's projects. You stay at home and sell your art every week or so, in fact you don't even let me see what you've been working on. We work on different time frames, understand that ok?" Lucy started down the stairs again and Jude stayed behind.

"Well while you're at work, think about today ok, and maybe then you'll come home early, 'cause it's important."

"Fine Jude!" she screeched from a few flights down. Her voice echoed off the walls and caught in his ears. He sat down against the wall and ran a hand through his hair.

_She said that living with me,  
Is bringing her down yeh,  
For she would never be free when I was around. _

She's got a ticket to ride,  
She's got a ticket to ri - hi - hide,  
She's got a ticket to ride, but she don't care.

I don't know why she's riding so high,  
She ought to think twice,  
She ought to do right by me.

* * *

"I don't know what's been with you today, but you need to get that silly head of yours out of the clouds for a while." 

Lucy abruptly looked on in attention to her boss. She was a short woman with crimson red hair and ardent green eyes that matched her shrill personality.

"I'm so sorry Ruby. I've just been…caught up with a lot of stuff lately…" Lucy trailed off.

"Whatever Lucy, just get with the program, ok?" Ruby left Lucy's sight yet her harsh tone lay imbedded in her mind. Lucy turned back to her notebook and tried with every fiber of her being to miraculously concentrate. She had been consumed in her own thoughts since she left the apartment structure and arriving late had left her supervisor in an edgy disposition.

_What did he mean, think about today? What's today? _Lucy put her pen down and let her thoughts stray again. She ran her hands over her tired face and through her hair, sighing all the while. Lucy racked her brain in attempt to decipher the given conundrum.

_It's August…mid August._ Lucy mused over the late summer month which as a teenager had always lead into a tedious September and left a calm July in its wake. She remembered leaving the sheltering arms of her parents and coming alive in New York. The thought of high waist pleated skirts and school dances with Daniel flooded into her mind and completely transformed into concerts and protests and Jude-everything always came down to Jude. She remembered the fateful day they sat at the river and had that groundbreaking conversation about Daniel's death and Max being a victim to the draft.

And then it was as if a mystical force pulled Lucy into that very moment. She could feel the wind in her hair and those intense butterflies penetrate her body. Jude had turned the dirty wall beautiful, etching Lucy's face into it. And it was the mere sentence he spoke that changed her life forever.

_I just want to get your eyes right. _

She was frivolous now. She had suddenly realized what Jude was talking about and turned her gaze to the clock. It was growing late, she had barely progressed in any of her work, and Jude was perhaps more than ever disconsolate. She packed her bag with anxious hands and dashed out the door, leaving bewildered employees in her wake.

* * *

The sun had slowly faded, leaving patches of orange mixed with a deep fuchsia. Lucy had reached the apartment hysterical, in search for Jude who was no where to be found. Max said he knew nothing, but Lucy had a feeling this was not the truth. Her brother's eyes were terrible secret keepers. 

In some way or another, Lucy found herself wandering around town feeling both foolish and miserable. She walked further on towards the broken down pier, reliving the moment when she and Jude had run hand in hand through the puddles and high wooden pillars, escaping a security guard.

_You'll scuff up them shiny black boots. _

Lucy laughed in recollection of Jude's reply to the man. She stepped out on the dock and gazed into the calm water, taking in her disappointed reflection. Lucy heaved a sigh and turned to look at herself on the wall. She came closer to the sketch and nearly stepped on something flat on the ground opposite the wall. It appeared to be a rather large, thin package with writing in the middle.

_For the girl who's here, there and everywhere. _

Lucy read out it loud and her breath caught in her throat. She quickly grabbed the package with a sharp intake of breath. Unwrapping it was a tedious process; her hands shook so violently that it was hard to peel off the seal.

Lucy scanned the contents with wide eyes and mouth agape. She was looking at a girl similar to herself, flying through a vibrant night sky that matched her cerulean eyes. Her long hair flowed freely and surrounding her were not stars, but diamond rings-numerous tiny rings all identical. And then her heart nearly stopped, there on her tiny finger was a ring, on her left ring finger to be exact.

"So you remembered?" Jude inquired, barely above a whisper. Lucy jumped at his surprise appearance. She spun around and saw him standing there, a little distantly with his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah…yeah I did. It's just been so long and I've been so caught up in the present, but really. How could I forget today?" Jude moved closer to Lucy and gestured towards the drawing in her hands.

"Do you know why I chose to give that to you today?"

"Why?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Because as I was drawing on this wall I realized I was falling…falling in love with you. I knew there would be no one else from that point on…just you." Lucy felt tears forming in her eyes and tried with all her might to hold them back, but they trickled down anyway.

"I know the feeling Jude…but I don't understand…how could I have forgotten today? I feel terrible and if you hadn't left that thought with me…I wouldn't have remembered." They were quiet for a moment and Jude leaned forward to wipe the tears from her eyes. She shook her head at how silly she was being.

"Luce…you don't have to remember everything in the past. I could care less. As long as we're here together and in the present." A tiny smile appeared on Lucy's lips. She glanced down at the drawing in her hands and eyed the ring on the girl's finger with a pulsating heart. Jude dug his hands into the pockets of his jacket, fingering a tiny round item as he watched Lucy intently.

"This is…Jesus, Jude. This is…I can't even describe this. It's beautiful and…intense. And…possibly a hidden message?"

"Why would you say that?" Jude asked, biting back a smile.

"I don't know Jude; I mean you're the artist. Who knows what you were trying to get across. You could, you know explain all this to me…" Lucy slipped the drawing back into its package and laid it gingerly in the area it was found. Jude walked over to her and slipped his hands comfortably around her wait and she let her hands pull absentmindedly through the ends of his hair.

"Well to start, her name is Lucy. She's this beautiful girl I met a while ago and I'm I couldn't help falling in love with her. She's always in me head and she likes to fly high in the sky. That shows how free she is, free as a bird. And she loves to fly around at nighttime since her features are so alluring in the dark…" Lucy smiled sheepishly and Jude brought his hands to her face, lightly stroking her cheeks.

"Go on…" she whispered.

"So she flies around in the dark admiring all the elements, the stars and the moon and such. Lucy's different though, she thinks the stars are too dull, they're not as radiant when she's near them, so she turns them into rings, diamond rings. The diamonds are bright and striking, just like her, and she does all sorts of stunts with them. But one day she realized that seeing the rings only at night wasn't enough. She loved the rings and wanted them to be with her always and forever. So one night she took one from the sky…

Jude stealthily reached into his pocket, pulling out the little round band he was previously touching.

"…she took one and slipped it onto her finger…"

Jude grabbed Lucy's left hand and slowly slipped the ring onto her finger, their eyes never left each other's Jude felt relief wash over him, knowing that not a sign of reluctance was shed from her.

"….but when examined the ring more closely…"

Lucy looked down and stared with wide eyes at diamond ring on her left hand, which Jude still held dearly.

"…she noticed that it paled in comparison to herself. It was shabby and tarnished, but she loved it anyway. It was special, just like her. And she knew that any other ring would have been just the same. It didn't matter the value of the ring, it would lose its splendor against her anyway. It would lose to her porcelain skin, her endless azure eyes, and her long golden hair. _Nothing_ is as beautiful as Lucy in the sky with diamonds. _Nothing_. "

Jude, whose voice had grown stead with conviction, never losing her eye contact, finished off his last sentence in a passionate shudder. Lucy had tears streaming down her face again. She never realized how symbolic one's work could be. She never realized _just_ how passionate Jude could be, particularly when it came to her. The strong undertones of his drawing made her tremble against him and he swooped down to kiss her. They lost themselves in an upsurge of emotion, that familiar strawberry grenade exploding with a burst of thick, red love.

It was dark outside now; a tiny beacon in the distance was the only guide to their surroundings, that and the natural light of the night sky. Lucy and Jude lay tucked in each other's arms staring at the endless plain of sapphire above. Lucy stroked her ring with a lazy grin plastered to her face.

"What are you thinking of…Mrs. Feeney?" Jude purred, his accent thickening over the words. Lucy sighed, with more content than she thought possible.

"The fact that I'm such a depiction in your life-me, Lucy _Feeney, _in the sky with diamonds. How did it occur to you?" Jude brought his lips to hers and withdrew them shortly.

"It's love Lucy. It's _real _love."

_All my little plans and schemes,  
lost like some forgotten dreams,  
seems that all I really was doing  
was waiting for you.  
Just like little girls and boys,  
playing with their little toys.  
Seems like all they really were doing  
was waiting for love.  
Don't need to be alone,  
no need to be alone.  
It's real love, it's real.  
Yes it's real love, it's real.  
From this moment on I know  
exactly where my life will go.  
Seems that all I really was doing  
was waiting for love.  
Don't need to be afraid,  
no need to be afraid.  
It's real love, it's real.  
Yes it's real love, it's real.  
Thought I'd been in love before,  
but in my heart, I wanted more.  
Seems like all I really was doing  
was waiting for you.  
Don't need to be alone,  
don't need to be alone.  
It's real love, it's real.  
It's real love, it's real._

_Yes it's real love, it's real.  
_


End file.
